A composition containing a compound having a quinone diazide group and an alkali-soluble resin finds use as a positive resist, because upon exposure to light having a wavelength of 300 to 500 nm, the quinone diazide group decomposes to form a carboxyl group whereby the originally alkali-insoluble composition becomes alkali-soluble. The positive resist composition has much better resolution than a negative resist composition and is used in the production of integrated circuits such as IC or LSI.
Recently, particularly with integrated circuits, miniaturization has proceeded with a rise in the integration level, which results in demands for formation of patterns of submicron order and more excellent resolution (high .gamma.-value). However, a resist composition comprising a conventional quinone diazide compound and a conventional alkali-soluble resin has a limit in increase of the .gamma.-value.
For example, if the amount of quinone diazide compound is increased to improve the .gamma.-value, serious problems such as deterioration of sensitivity and increase of residues after developing arise. Therefore, the improvement of the .gamma.-value is limited.